Matt Roffe Takes Over White Sox Scouting as CHSN Viewership Surges

Matt Roffe arrives as the White Sox’s director of amateur scouting with a chance to build on work already underway. The club confirmed his appointment Thursday, along with the pronunciation of his name: ROW-fay. For a department that has seen a leadership change, his first message was about learning the people around him and working as a team.

That emphasis matters. Roffe’s predecessor, Mike Shirley, resigned amid harassment allegations, a departure tied to behavior rather than performance. That distinction leaves Roffe without an immediate need to frame his arrival as a wholesale overhaul of the scouting operation. His job starts with understanding the department and deciding how its existing work can develop.

Roffe also spoke positively about the organization’s recent progress. He cited Chris Getz, Carlos, Josh Barfield, Matt Grabowski, David Keller and Gene Watson as participants in a thorough interview process. “I felt like the organization has made great strides over the last two years,” he said.

That’s a different starting point from the arrivals of Barfield or Brian Bannister, when new hires were asked to buy into a broader vision that had yet to take clear shape across the organization. Roffe can describe a department in motion rather than sell a future blueprint. The challenge now is to turn that favorable impression into a clear working relationship with the scouts he’ll oversee.

Analytics as part of the scouting mix

There was more discussion of combining analytics with scouting this time, fitting for a hire who came through the Statcast ranks. Still, the White Sox already use analytics in their evaluation process, so the task appears to be integration and application rather than introducing an unfamiliar idea. The value will come from how information informs decisions alongside scouts’ assessments, especially as the department evaluates amateur talent.

Roffe said he had spoken with Garrett Guest and planned to lean on him and others. He also said he had heard good things about the White Sox scouts from staff with the Brewers. “I’m just excited to get to know people on a personal level and work together as a team,” he said, calling the role a dream come true and describing the goal as bringing another World Series championship to the South Side.

There’s always a little tension when a White Sox executive talks about championships, given the distance between ambition and results. Roffe had just taken part in a parade, though, so it’s easy to understand why a title was on his mind. The more revealing part of his message may be its focus on relationships: a scouting director depends on a broad group of evaluators, and the work asks that group to reach shared judgments over time.

White Sox broadcasts draw a larger audience

The team’s audience numbers offer a more immediate measure of improvement. White Sox games on CHSN’s linear and streaming platforms averaged 84,800 viewers per game, a major-league best 168% increase from last year. It was the team’s largest audience since 2022. Viewership also rose as the season progressed: games in August and September averaged 112,000 viewers, up 78% from March, April and May.

The 2022 season followed a playoff season, so the latest figure gives the team a useful comparison point as it looks ahead. A further increase could be in the offing, barring a lockout. The Bulls and Blackhawks have started their seasons poorly, leaving CHSN in need of a compelling baseball season to hold viewers’ attention.

The numbers also revisit the decision to let Jason Benetti leave for Detroit without a fight. At the time, declining viewership may have encouraged the White Sox to draw the wrong conclusion about the value of keeping him through the end of his contract. The club underestimated how difficult it would be to change broadcasters in a turbulent period, and John Schriffen had little experience calling games for one team in one market.

Still, the broadcast booth is only one part of the audience equation. Team quality and distribution tend to matter more, with the quality of the broadcast playing a secondary role. Benetti’s recent experience in Detroit offers a reminder: even a familiar voice can’t shield a team from falling viewership when other conditions turn against it.

The Giants, Royals and Tigers had the sharpest audience declines among major-league teams. Giants games on NBC Sports Bay Area were down a league-worst 32% in 2026, while Royals games were down 31%. Tigers broadcasts fell 24% after the team moved from FanDuel Sports Network to Detroit SportsNet. That decline followed a 112% increase in 2025, when the Tigers had the league’s biggest gain.

CHSN and the White Sox have now found a path ahead after a couple of years of uncertainty around regional sports networks. The audience growth gives the team room to make a strong choice for its broadcast booth, while Roffe’s arrival gives its scouting department a leader focused on the people already doing the work. Both developments leave the White Sox with a chance to turn improved footing into progress fans can see.